jon's review
'You know what it's like, your mate says 'I'm in a new band - here listen to our CD'. You take a copy as it might make a good drinks coaster. Of course I NEVER thought like that, but I can still say that Minx have grown on me even since the release of their first 'proper' album, 'Something for the Weekend' back in.....hmmmm can't remember the year. But I can remember how much I liked it from the first play. The immediacy of tracks like 'Nothing To Lose', 'What Frank Says' & the title track to the, quite frankly, lovely songs that are 'Can't Wake Up','Murder Love' & 'Say No'were the sort of songs that deserved to be heard by an audience wider than Minx's friends, relatives & stalkers.
The second CD, 'Marvellous Minx' showed a more mature & fuller sounding product - but no loss of catchy tunes, even re-visiting older tracks such as ' Virtually' & 'Happiest Day' from their early eponymous EP - much better & more polished second time around. I love 'Not Joking Now', the fantastic keyboard intro giving way to a grinding pop song. A couple of the tracks were mixed by the Cardiacs Tim Smith and nowhere is this more obvious than the marvellous sea shanty of 'Blunderbuss' which definitely has a Cardiacs tinge to it (although I don't think any members of Minx are sleeping with their sisters). Just like their first CD, amongst the rock/pop heavy tunes are a few slow numbers, like the simple but beautiful 'Box This Feeling'. The album even tips a nod to one of the band's favourite historic car events, the London to Brighton Car Rally. In historic car circles it realis one of the best rallies in the annual car calendar. But my favouritetrack has to be the stand out 'Hot Saturday Nightly' - surely this should be the theme to a TV cop drama? And is that really Brian playing the guitar or did they get in hired help?
And now we are on the cusp of the latest release from Minx, 'Bloodshot'. Listening to this alongside earlier releases it is clear just how far the band have come - the sound just seems to 'fit' together better & the tracks seem deeper, wider, more dynamic. You have the catchy 'Flesh Blood Bottle' (don't ask me, I don't know what it means either, but it sounds like the milkman has had a terrible accident), a very melodic 'How To Get On In Life' and a hard rocking 'Somehow Someday'. An album of many influences & different sounds - but it just seems to work. This, I suppose, what is to be expected from a new Minx release.
I could never keep track of the comings & goings of the various Minx members, but what stands out from looking back at all their CDs is that they go from strength to strength. And that I'm still in need of some drinks coasters.'
jon boyle
The second CD, 'Marvellous Minx' showed a more mature & fuller sounding product - but no loss of catchy tunes, even re-visiting older tracks such as ' Virtually' & 'Happiest Day' from their early eponymous EP - much better & more polished second time around. I love 'Not Joking Now', the fantastic keyboard intro giving way to a grinding pop song. A couple of the tracks were mixed by the Cardiacs Tim Smith and nowhere is this more obvious than the marvellous sea shanty of 'Blunderbuss' which definitely has a Cardiacs tinge to it (although I don't think any members of Minx are sleeping with their sisters). Just like their first CD, amongst the rock/pop heavy tunes are a few slow numbers, like the simple but beautiful 'Box This Feeling'. The album even tips a nod to one of the band's favourite historic car events, the London to Brighton Car Rally. In historic car circles it realis one of the best rallies in the annual car calendar. But my favouritetrack has to be the stand out 'Hot Saturday Nightly' - surely this should be the theme to a TV cop drama? And is that really Brian playing the guitar or did they get in hired help?
And now we are on the cusp of the latest release from Minx, 'Bloodshot'. Listening to this alongside earlier releases it is clear just how far the band have come - the sound just seems to 'fit' together better & the tracks seem deeper, wider, more dynamic. You have the catchy 'Flesh Blood Bottle' (don't ask me, I don't know what it means either, but it sounds like the milkman has had a terrible accident), a very melodic 'How To Get On In Life' and a hard rocking 'Somehow Someday'. An album of many influences & different sounds - but it just seems to work. This, I suppose, what is to be expected from a new Minx release.
I could never keep track of the comings & goings of the various Minx members, but what stands out from looking back at all their CDs is that they go from strength to strength. And that I'm still in need of some drinks coasters.'
jon boyle